


To Be Found Again

by BakaPandy



Series: Iron Wrought [1]
Category: Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, Naruto
Genre: Found Family, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:20:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,325
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28471548
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BakaPandy/pseuds/BakaPandy
Summary: Shinki knew he was simply being passed on, just as he always had been.Abandoned.Alone again.--------------------The story of how Shinki and Gaara met.
Relationships: Gaara & Shinki (Naruto)
Series: Iron Wrought [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2098947
Comments: 42
Kudos: 205





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> HAPPY NEW YEAR PRESENT FROM ME!!
> 
> I've been trying to write this fic for uhhhh ages and I just could never get it out...until I guess New Years' Eve lmao...I banged out pretty much all of it today and since I wanted to get out as a New Year's treat into 2021, it is entirely unedited because I literally finished it 5 minutes ago. I'll add any edits later!!!

“Hand over the Iron Sand user.”

“Sir, this is a formal institution, you may not simply take children as you please! There are protocols in place—"

“I don’t give a rat’s ass. Hand him over or we’ll kill everyone here.”

He could feel their eyes on him, their fear and resentment as their lives rested on his existence. The matron desperately trying to calm the other trembling children looked at him with false assurance.

“Don’t worry, Shinki.” She said. “You will be fine.”

He could see in her eyes she did not believe her own words.

The sounds in the main hall were muffled; each clatter and thud sending a jolt through the group of children huddled in the corner. Two other matrons stood guard at the door, kunai poised at the ready. But they knew they’d be no match for the rogue intruders.

Heavy footfalls approached the room they were hiding in and the door was yanked open. Shinki had seen men like him before. The orphanage occasionally hired them for protection. Men covered in scars, weathered by nature; who walked the earth as if stalked by death itself.

Shinobi.

The two matron guards could barely react before they were disarmed and forced back. The man surveyed the room, cold eyes sweeping over the children.

“Which one is it?”

No one replied. But shinobi are observant, trained to gather information with a single glance. The man’s gaze pinned Shinki immediately. Shinki did not resist as he was grabbed roughly by the arm and dragged away from the group. Staying quiet and obeying kept him alive until now, there’s no reason it wouldn’t continue to do so.

“Wait, p-please don’t-” Shinki glanced back at the protesting matron. What a weak, half-hearted attempt. Her eyes were apologetic when they met his. It didn’t matter to him, nor did it surprise him. He turned his back on them and looked to the man who pulled him along, stumbling to keep up with his brisk pace.

Shinki knew he was simply being passed on, just as he always had been.

Abandoned.

Alone again.

* * *

They traveled on foot through miles of sand. He was hot and exhausted. He was taken to a nondescript building carved into a desert mesa. If Shinki had not been with the pair of shinobi, he would not have thought it to be a building at all. They passed through one dark corridor after another and try as he might, he could not distinguish the route they took.

“At least he ain’t one of them cryin’ ones.” One of the men grumbled. His companion snorted.

“It’s good I guess, it’s a bit weird though. He barely looks old enough to walk.” They both eyed him like he was some sort of creature. “What’s your name, kid?”

He didn’t deign them a response. They didn’t deserve to know his name.

The first companion barked a laugh. “Maybe he’s mute. That’ll give the boss a run for his money. All the excitement with finally finding an Iron Sand user only for him to be stupid and mute.” They snickered and shoved him forward into another room.

It was bright.

Shinki squinted as his eyes adjusted to the new environment. The room was sparsely furnished, just a simple desk in the middle and a few scattered chairs. Another man sat at the desk contemplating a set of scrolls before him. He looked up when they entered, and his gaze immediately fell to Shinki. He stood with a rush and stalked over.

“Is this the child?”

“Yes, boss. Just picked him up.”

“He’s younger than I thought. Are you sure he’s manifested a kekkei genkai?”

His lackey didn’t respond.

“You didn’t confirm it? Are you stupid?”

The man called “Boss”, turned to Shinki, finally acknowledging his existence. “What’s your name, boy?”

“We think he’s mute, boss. Hasn’t said a word since we got him. Didn’t even cry. Not a peep.” The man rounded on his lackey once more.

“You idiots! You brought the wrong child? We had one chance to find him! Undoubtedly the Kazekage has already been alerted. We can not return.”

“He’s just an orphan, Boss. We didn’t kill no one. What’s he gonna care about one missing brat?”

Shinki was used to being ignored, but something about the situation irked him.

“I’m not mute.”

The men froze in their argument and turned to him. The leader peered at him down a crooked nose.

“What’s your name, son?” They still didn’t deserve to know his name. The man squinted at him. “Who are your parents?”

“If I knew that, I wouldn’t have been at an orphanage.” The lackeys snorted and the leader gave a wry smile.

“You have quite the attitude. Fine. Are you the Iron Sand user?”

“I don’t know what that is.”

The man circled around him curiously as he spoke.

“We heard rumors of a child that could move black sand. Is that you?”

Shinki wasn’t sure what the fixation was around this ability. When he first discovered he could do so, the matrons had buzzed with hushed murmurs for days.

It was annoying.

“What about it?” he asked petulantly.

The man’s eyes narrowed as he regarded Shinki for a moment, before meandering around him with his hands clasped behind him. Prickling discomfort trickled down Shinki’s neck at the scrutiny. “I ask because sand manipulation is a very rare ability, boy.” He paused behind him. “There’s only one other person alive who can do it.”

A spark of curiosity shot through Shinki. But as he turned to face the man, the question of “who?” at the tip of his tongue, the breath was knocked from him and he pitched forward to the ground. As he recoiled in protest, the bite of cold metal pressed against his throat. For the first time in a long while, terror doused him like cold water. The man’s eyes glinted as he leaned in close and Shinki felt a searing pain as the blade cut through the soft surface of his skin.

“Show me.” The man hissed, his breath hot and foul. The blade pressed harder. “And I’ll tell you.”

Shinki wasn’t sure what happened as blind terror engulfed him. The blade had left the surface of his skin, leaving only the sting of the cut and a warm trickle of blood. When he opened his eyes again, he was met with shards of black iron spiked across the room. The air hummed with electric energy that sent hair raising shocks through the fine particles that drifted in a thick cloud around them.

Shinki immediately recognized the substance. It was the same sand that danced around his fingers in the yard of the orphanage. The same sand that, if he concentrated hard enough, he could make into shapes that brought giggles from the other children. But he had never seen so much of it and had never been able to move so much of it. It had never looked so lethal.

“Magnificent.” The voice croaked from the corner where an isolated wall of stone had erected from the ground. It was the first time Shinki had seen an Earth Style technique up close. It crumbled away, taking with it the black shards of iron protruding from it, and the man emerged from behind, hand gripping a bleeding shoulder. A harsh laughed barked from the weathered shinobi as he spoke to no one but the thick air. “Do you see that, Kazekage? Let’s see how well your silly pacifist idealism fairs against the Iron Sand, the power of the Third.”

Fear welled up within Shinki once more as he was pinned by the glint of greed in those piercing eyes. “You, boy…” Shinki cowered as the man took a step towards him. The sand around him vibrated stronger for a split second before falling, lifeless. At the same moment, exhaustion washed over him and the room began to spin. The last thing he saw as his head hit the ground and the world went dark, was the grin of unrestrained glee suspended above him.

“You are our future.”

* * *

“Lord Kazekage!”

Gaara looked up sharply from his writing at the urgent tone behind the door

“Enter. What is it?”

The haggard chunin that entered bowed deep as he caught his breath. He was young, barely reaching manhood.

“The orphanage at the village outskirts. There was an attack.”

The Kazekage stood immediately from his desk. “Are there any causalities?”

The messenger shook his head. “No casualties, just a few injuries, none life-threatening…However…one child was taken.”

A pang of regret shot through Gaara. The orphanage was only a few years old, newly erected since the 4th Great Ninja War. With the help of Haruno Sakura from Konoha, they had built a robust program to help the many children that had lost their families to the war. But with the scarce personnel available, there had not been enough manpower to provide consistent security. Gaara had hoped the peacetime they had entered after the war would be enough until the new generation of shinobi emerged. His naiveté, however, had put an innocent child in danger.

“I need more information,” Gaara demanded as he briskly rounded his desk and exited the office. The chunin trailed after him. “What did they want with the child?”

“We don’t know, sir.”

Something was very suspicious, the Kazekage thought. The attack was evidently not random, otherwise, there would have been more victims. It had been calculated with a specific goal in mind.

As Gaara exited the estate, particles of sand gathered around him, condensing to coalesce into a gourd that he strapped to his hip. From the corner of his eye, he saw the young chunin’s expression of intimidated awe. He must have been newly appointed to his rank, and thus had not participated in the war. His Kazekage’s might was only but a legend.

“Gaara.”

He did not slow his pace as the black-clad figure suddenly appeared beside him and matched his stride. “Where the hell are you going?” Gaara did not turn to meet his elder brother’s bewildered expression to reply to his question.

“To the new orphanage.”

“What did something happen?” Kankurou continued to ask when he finally acknowledged the presence of the chunin still trailing behind him. “You there.” The chunin jumped a little, clearly daunted by the two highest-ranking shinobi within the village before him. “What’s going on?

“Y-Yessir!” He stammered. “I just reported to Lord Kazekage there was an attack at the orphanage. There—“

“No casualties. One child is missing. But something is suspicious.” Kankurou turned back to his brother as Gaara finished the report unceremoniously. Kankurou sighed and waved off the chunin.

“Thanks, you’re dismissed.”

“Yessir!”

With just the two of them, Kankurou dropped all pretenses. “Gaara, you can’t just go wherever the hell you want. Let me handle this, I’ll report back—“

“No, this is my fault. I should have increased security for them.”

“With who? You know we’re short-staffed as it, Gaara. At least it’s just one kid and not more. Stop taking everything as your sole responsibility.” The Kazekage only shot a glower at his brother in response before leaping up to the rooftops and increasing his speed. Kankurou clicked his tongue with a sigh. As he leaped up to chase after his brother, he tapped the radio in his ear.

“This is Kankurou. I’m with the Kazekage, we’re heading northwest to the new orphanage. Keep tabs on the surrounding area. There might be something suspicious going on.” The radio crackled with affirmation before going silent.

* * *

“Lord Kazekage!”

The frazzled matron rushed to them when they touched down by the orphanage and fell to her knees. “Forgive me Lord Kazekage, they overwhelmed us and took the child. There was nothing we could do—“

Gaara gently helped the distraught woman up. “Don’t apologize, it was my fault for not providing enough security. I’m sorry.” He looked up as two chunin rank shinobi approached them, likely dispatched to investigate from a nearby precinct. They saluted with a respectful bow.

“Lord Kazekage, we didn’t find anything unusual aside from the missing child. All the injured are being treated.”

“Lord Kazekage…” The matron’s hesitant whisper sparked unease within him. “About the child…there’s something I must tell you, but…” her eyes drifted warily to the two chunin. Gaara’s eyes narrowed and he shared a glance with his brother. Kankurou dismissed them with a wave.

“Shall we speak inside?” Gaara suggested. The matron nodded and they followed her into the building.

He did a cursory inspection of the facility as she leads them through the halls. It had taken much effort to convince the Council and then the Wind Daimyo to allocate their already limited funds to a new building. Even if was only a few years old, he was pleased to see it holding up well.

“The child…” the matron began as they entered a modest office space. “Arrived here as an infant 6 years ago. He was left on the doorstep, without a note or any sort of identification. He couldn’t have been more than a year old. He was always quiet and quite obedient for a child of his age. Didn’t particularly get along with the other kids, but didn’t get into trouble either. There was nothing remarkable about him…until about 2 months ago.” She fidgeted as her hesitancy stopped her words. Gaara sensed the impatience emanating from his brother beside him. She took a deep breath.

“About two months ago he manifested what we think is a kekkei genkai…” She sighed again. “Iron Sand.”

Gaara frowned.

“That’s impossible,” Kankurou interjected. “Only the Third could use Iron Sand and he is very much dead. And he didn’t have any offspring from what we know of.”

The matron shook her head.

“We were skeptical, too, Lord Kankurou. At first, we believed it to be playground gossip from the children…but one of the matrons saw him manipulating the black sand to entertain some of his peers.”

“Did you talk to the child about it?” Gaara asked.

“Well…we told him to keep it more discreet…but you know how children are.”

“If the child manifested the ability here, how did these intruders learn about him?” Kankurou demanded. The matron fidgeted sheepishly again.

“Some of the matrons can be quite gossips…I wouldn’t be surprised if it slipped out that way, perhaps when getting supplies in town.”

After discussing several more details, they thanked the matron for the information and departed.

“They should have reported an Iron Sand user immediately,” Kankurou grumbled as they exited the building.

“There’s nothing we can do about the past. Let’s focus on locating the child.” Gaara replied, heading towards the two chunin from before to obtain a more thorough report. Kankurou stopped his brother with a hand on his shoulder.

“You shouldn’t get directly involved with this, Gaara. You know what this means, don’t you? It’s not safe.” Gaara brushed Kankurou’s hand off him and continued walking. His brother pushed on urgently. “We both thought we sniffed out all of your dissenters but clearly that’s not the case. It’s obvious these people are going to try and use this kid’s ability against you.”

“Kankurou, I can take care of myself. Stop being so overbearing.”

“I’m not being overbearing! You have been Kazekage for several years now; you know the village needs you. We can’t afford to lose you again, not now.” Gaara paused at that. “Look,” Kankurou continued, adjusting the straps on his shoulders that held the scrolls that sealed his puppets. “I’ll personally investigate this issue, alright? You head back to the village. I’ll keep you posted on everything.” Gaara sighed. It was times like this when the title of Kazekage felt like shackles. He worked for the good of his people overall, yet, he could not always help the individual.

“What about you?” He asked. “Don’t you have your duties to take care of as well?”

Kankurou scratched the back of his neck nonchalantly. “It’s fine, my subordinates can take care of things in my stead for a few days. They’re capable enough. I hope.”

A slight smile curved Gaara’s lips. “Thank you. You take care as well. We can’t lose you either.”

Kankurou smirked at his brother turning his own words against him. “Yeah, yeah,” he waved him off. “Just get back to the village. And try not to shirk off your Anbu detail again. Last time Temari found out you escaped them, she chewed their heads off. I felt bad for them.” Gaara distinctly remembered his own chastising from his sister following the incident.

“Temari hasn’t lived here for 6 years.”

“You know she’ll find out one way or another. I swear she has us bugged somehow.”

* * *

It was cold when Shinki woke.

He always wondered why the desert was so hot in the day, but so cold at night. Not that it mattered now, as it was always cold in the dark room. He sat up from the tiny cot, the thin blanket falling away, and wondered if they would come for him today.

He didn’t know how long he had been there; days, weeks maybe. The only time he saw anyone was when he was brought food and water or to be “tested”. A rustling beside him turned his attention to his arm and he saw in the dim lighting, the tendrils of dark sand slithering around him. It was a constant presence around him now. He wasn’t sure how he felt about it because, on one hand, this sand was the reason he was here. It was the reason he was poked, prodded, battered, and bruised to provoke another response like the one in the room when he first arrived. He didn’t know how it acted; he didn’t know why it acted. Only that when he was agitated enough, it responded. That’s why, on the other hand, he supposed he was grateful for the sand, because it protected him, even if it left him exhausted afterward.

Though lately, it didn’t respond much because he had become so numb to any kind of emotion. He figured out quickly that the people who kept him captive needed him _alive_. In other words, they wouldn’t kill him, _couldn’t_ kill him. So the fear he felt before, no longer struck him as strongly. Yet, the last remaining emotion of pure spite within him did not want to give them what they wanted even if it meant that he might eventually be killed as a result.

He stiffened when he heard voices outside of the room.

“We’ve had him for 2 weeks and we’ve still made no progress to control it. We’re running out of time.”

There was a rustle of keys and click of the lock.

“That pesky puppeteer brother of his is already snooping around and he’s getting closer to our trail.”

Shinki wondered why they continued to talk around him as if he couldn’t understand them. It was irritating that they found him stupid, but he supposed it was helpful to have somewhat of an idea as to what was doing on.

The door opened and two towering figures stalked in. It was the leader again, his shoulder still bandaged from Shinki’s attack.

“You ready to try again?” He asked, peering down at Shinki. The illumination from the open door gave him an eerie glow. Shinki didn’t respond.

“Come on, boy.” The other man muttered as Shinki’s arm was grabbed and he was dragged out.

He was taken once again to the courtyard if it could be called that. It was more like a sparse patch of land behind the hidden hideout, surrounded by desert mesas that kept it concealed from the outside. It was a place that no one could find him, no one could hear him scream.

As his arm was released, a piece of paper was shoved at him.

“This is your enemy.” Curiosity compelled Shinki to look. A young man’s face stared back at him. A mop of auburn hair framed a pale face sporting an unreadable expression. Printed prominently on his forehead was one of the few kanji Shinki recognized: “love”. However, it was his eyes that sparked recognition within him, eyes encircled with dark rings that seemed to enhance their intense stare. Shinki had seen those eyes many times in the orphanage, peering out from beneath the angled hat in the picture framed on the modest plaque explaining the orphanage’s founding.

The Kazekage. They were telling him his enemy was the _Kazekage_.

“It seems you recognize him.” The leader stated at Shinki’s silence. “I never told you the one other person who can manipulate sand. The Kazekage, or as some of us know him, Gaara of the Sand Waterfall. I’m sure you’ve heard of his prowess.”

Shinki did not recognize that particular name, but, he’d certainly heard of the Kazekage’s might. The other children at the orphanage adored the Kazekage, bickered over who would be him in their pretend games. They told great stories of his heroism in the 4th War, how he led the entire Allied Shinobi Forces against gods _and won._ Shinki always found those stories rather unbelievable, as the man in the picture seemed young and, frankly, unassuming.

“So the Kazekage…has the same ability as I do?” Shinki’s question seemed to elicit some sort of satisfaction in the man, whose mouth cracked into a smile.

“Almost...your Iron Sand has the potential to be _better_.” Shinki was skeptical about that. “The question is, whether you can control it.”

“I can’t. I don’t know how to control it.” Shinki replied. The man’s expression changed immediately to impatience. “Figure it out, you useless brat. Otherwise, _he_ ,” the picture of the Kazekage was shoved once more into Shinki’s face, “will kill you.”

Uneasiness seeded within Shinki.

“Why?” He asked. “I haven’t…done anything to him…”

“Why?” The man mocked as he drew a kunai and shifted into a crouch. “Because you’re one of us.”

* * *

Gaara sighed in disappointment.

“Sorry,” Kankurou muttered. “I know it’s not much, but we’ve exhausted all leads right now. We’re still looking, but there’s really not that much we can find.”

During Kankurou’s initial investigation, it was discovered via a tip-off that a small sect of rogue former Suna shinobi was plotting some sort of coup. That alongside the issue of the missing child was enough evidence to convince the Council to allow the allocation of a small investigation party.

It had been nearly 3 weeks since and, frustratingly, there had been no sign of the coup or the child.

“If you’re worried, we can up your security—“ Gaara shot his brother a withering look. “But that’s…not what you’re worried about.” Kankurou corrected himself sheepishly. “You’re worried about the kid.”

“He’s being used as a weapon.” The Kazekage murmured as he turned to look out the window of the office, over the sprawling village and the expanse of the desert beyond it. “When a child is seen as a weapon…they are not considered human.”

Kankurou bowed his head at his brother’s melancholic tone, the painful memories a shared whisper between them. “We’ll keep searching.”

“Please do.”

* * *

Something about being told that the _Kazekage_ would kill him sparked an irrational and uncontrollable fear within Shinki.

Suddenly, the Iron Sand became a tempestuous storm that didn’t even leave Shinki entirely unscathed when it howled into a monstrous untamable beast. Most of the group stopped approaching him, their eyes reflecting a haunted fear as if they had seen this before. The only one who did approach him was the leader, who seemed to only care that Shinki’s power grew greater, and who took some twisted enjoyment in taunting him to elicit his outbursts. Furthermore, he started using genjutsu as he found that could consistently produce a particularly destructive response from Shinki. The first time it was used on him, Shinki nearly killed the 5 men forced to “test” him. It was only by sheer luck that he hadn’t.

Each “test” left Shinki so exhausted that he would faint almost immediately.

At the very least, he slept dreamlessly.

* * *

“Today is the day you perform.”

Shinki woke with a jolt as he was roughly pulled from sleep and wrangled to his feet.

“Security in the village is unusually light today, we need to take this opportunity when we can.” The leader’s words barely registered as grogginess kept Shinki from thoroughly taking in the situation. But the next moment, he placed a palm on Shinki’s forehead and everything went dark once more.

* * *

“They took the bait. We just got the report that they’re heading for the eastern village entrance. The Anbu are all in position and the rescue team is on standby.”

Gaara stood from his seat.

“No.” Kankurou barked at his brother. “Gaara, stay here. Let us handle this. We don’t know what kind of power they have.”

“Kankurou, enough of this. I—“

“I know you’re perfectly capable of taking care of yourself. You’re the strongest person in the whole damn village. But that’s exactly why we can’t risk you if we can help it.”

As they glared at each other across the Kazekage desk in a battle of wills, a masked Anbu flickered into the room and knelt by Kankurou.

“They’ve entered the village in Eastern Precinct 10, but there is a massive isolated sandstorm of black sand in the town square. We can’t close in because of it.”

Kankurou cursed under his breath as he turned back to his brother. “Gaara—“

But all he was met with across the desk was a wisp of sand that vanished with the next breath.

“Shit.”

* * *

Rage.

Pain.

Fear.

He could see nothing, feeling nothing, except for these emotions that churned a tumultuous maelstrom within him. He screamed until his voice went hoarse and cried until he no more tears to shed. But then it all shattered and when his eyes opened he was in the heart of a raging whirlwind of dark sand. Tiny particles scratched the exposed skin of his face like microscopic blades. His breath felt as if it was being drawn from his lungs as he squinted through the black tempest, fear still engulfing him like the storm he was in.

Then, _he_ appeared. Like a bloodstain on an iron blade; auburn hair and red coat whipping in the turbulent winds.

_The Kazekage_.

* * *

The storm’s howl could be heard before it was seen. Gaara pressed more chakra to his feet, to propel him faster to his destination. The winds picked up immediately as he entered within range of the storm. He sensed the chakra signatures of the nearby positioned Anbu. He spotted one, gave a brief nod, ignoring the bewildered response that came through even from behind the Anbu mask, then leap right into the heart of the maelstrom.

The Iron Sand immediately nicked the skin of his cheek. The particles were even sharper than his own sand, Gaara mused as he molded a Sand Armor around himself, a technique he had not used for many years. He trudged through the storm, towards the chakra signature that pulsed weakly ahead of him. Before long, a tiny figure materialized, curled into himself as the storm raged around him.

Gaara thought that perhaps now was not the time to realize that he had never been very good with children.

* * *

Blind panic gripped Shinki as the Kazekage approached him.

_He’ll kill you_. The leader’s voice echoed from his memory.

The black sand around him coalesced into sharp spears, and somewhere deep down in the grips of fear, Shinki knew they were sharper than any blade he had ever created.

A tendril of sand emerged around the Kazekage in response to the blades. And when Shinki shut his eyes, he knew they had launched.

* * *

Gaara could see the panic and fear in the child’s eyes as he approached. It was a look he had not seen directed at him for many years. But rather than the loneliness and dread that look used to elicit from him, he instead felt sympathy.

Regardless, he had to make a decision quickly as long pointed spears had materialized beside the child and were aimed directly at him. Either he approached the child or he fought off the attack, but he knew the latter could jeopardize the little chance he had of forming trust between them.

With the same strength of resolve he had when facing the Ten-Tailed Beast during the War, he formed a Sand Shield and stepped towards the child. As he wrapped the boy in an embrace, pain shot through him as the spears that broke past his Shield pierced his arms and back. Had he been anyone else, had he not had his Sand Armor, the blow would have been fatal.

But, after all, he was Gaara of the Sand, the Kazekage.

* * *

The pain never came.

Only warmth.

In the following moment of stunned silence, Shinki opened his eyes. The howling wind had stopped and he thought, for a moment, that perhaps he had been killed. But the warm embrace around him was unmistakable and the red before his eyes was not of blood, but that of cloth. Shinki looked up to see the man in the picture wince in pain. Their gazes met and Shinki could see those dark ringed eyes were even more intense in person. The Kazekage gently pulled back and placed a hand on Shinki’s shoulder. From the corner of his vision, Shinki saw the spears of dark sand disintegrate from his wounds. Guilt panged through him as he met the man’s eyes again, this time seeing a gentleness he had not noticed before.

“I’ll teach you how to use your power.” The Kazekage spoke in a soft voice, not one Shinki imagined from someone with the reputation he had. “What’s your name?”

Awestruck, Shinki could do nothing else but reply.

“Shinki…”


	2. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I should be asleep but I had to write this too :')

Immediately after answering with his name, the exhaustion kicked in and Shinki pitched forward as he fainted. Gaara caught him, concerned by the response, but a quick inspection showed him to simply be asleep. It wasn’t surprising, Gaara supposed. Such a massive and sudden release of chakra with no control would knock anyone out. He gathered the boy into his arms and leaped back to the rooftops, away from the potential enemy line of fire.

The Anbu had gone to work the moment the sandstorm had mitigated. By the time Gaara reached them, they had already rounded up the entire group of dissenters and had them bound tight with restraints.

The obvious leader of the group glowered at him. “Gaara of the Sand Waterfall, you should be dead.” Gaara regarded the man and he was hit with a glimmer of recognition.

“Did you really think that would be enough to stop me? You should have learned your lesson the first time around.”

The man snarled in rage and frustration at the impudent response.

“So you got the kid, huh?” Kankurou sauntered over, obviously disgruntled by his brother’s earlier disappearing act. He peered at the sleeping child curiously. “What happened? Is he alright?”

“He’s fine.” Gaara replied, gingerly adjusting Shinki in his arms. He was grateful he had some practice from holding his young nephew, Shikadai. “He’s just exhausted from chakra overuse.”

A twinge of pain shot through him from the puncture wounds in his arms and back. He tried to hide a wince. It, of course, did not escape his brother.

“Hold on, are you injured?” Kankurou then noticed the blood seeping through Gaara’s coat. He clicked his tongue and tapped the radio in his ear. “I need a medic nin here stat. Kazekage’s injured.”

“I’m fine. We should get Shinki back first, so he can rest.”

“Fine, fine. I’ll let the orphanage know while you—“

“No, I think he should stay with us.”

Kankurou blanched.

“HUH?!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not obvious since there wasn't really any way to point it out specifically in the fic but....the leader of the group of dissenters was the leading ANBU sent to assassinate Gaara during his first joint mission with Konoha (Naruto Shippuden filler ep 182). Guess he never got over his entire team being beaten by a marble of sand ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

**Author's Note:**

> THANK YOU FOR READING!! Comments and thoughts are greatly appreciated. I'm not much of a writer and prefer to tell stories through my comics, but this was....just so complex that I felt I could not adequately tell it through a comic. So here it is!


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